Means for purifying water.



N0. 629,578. Patented luly 25, |899.

E. MAGINN.

MEANS FUR PURIFYING WATER.

(Application led Apr. B, 1899.) (No Model.)

Nrrnn 'STATES EDIVARD MAGINN, OF ALLEGI'IENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

MEANS FoR, PuRlFYlNc WATER.'

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 629,578, dated J' uly 25, 1899.

Application filed `April 6, 1899. Serial No. 711,988. (No model.) l

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, EDWARD MAGINN, of Allegheny, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Means for Purifying Water, of which the following is a specification. v

It is the object of my invention to purify water taken from rivers or large streams for use by towns and cities, as well as public ro and private establishments, and to do this at small cost as compared with the systems generally employed or proposed for adoption for that purpose. One of the most prominent ofsuch systems is that which includes the use of receiving and subsidin g reservoirs, and another provides for a filtration plant, which generally requires a pumping-station. In the first case no filtration is made and purifica-` tion depends wholly upon subsidence by grav- Qo ity, and both systems require enormous outlay for installation and involve considerable expense for subsequent maintenance. I effect purification by means of a tank or cis-I tern which is set in the stream used as a source 2 5 of supply, and I so arrange it that the natural bed of said stream serves as the filtering medium, thereby dispensing with the necessity` of purchasing and occupying any land or employing pumps or other parts necessary to the 3o other expensive systems.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure I i-s a perspective view of a water tank or cistern constructed and arrangedalongsidea riverbank according to my system. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 4t is a plan View of a tank designed to be arranged in the bed of ariver away from the bank. Fig. 5 is a plan View,l part being in section, of one of 4o the tubular perforated piles.

The body of the tank or cistern A may be constructed of various materials, such asV metal,wood,stone,or cement. In this instance the vertical wall of the tank is represented as formed of sheet metal, steel being preferred. As shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3, the tank is arranged close to the river-bank cc, which forms one side of the same, and it has two obtuse angles, its ends being inclined toward and 5o joining the bank. This form offers small resistance to the river-current. The wall of the tank A enters the river-bed rj to a depthdepending in part upon the nature of the'bed; but it must be sufficient to avoid washing away of the earth around it, so as to allow entrance of `water without percolating a due depth of soil.' Posts or piles B and B are driven close to the inner and outer sides of the tank-wall, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, for the obvious purpose of insuring stability. 6o These piles are tubular and kpointed and formed of steel or iron. The innerones, B, are perforated to allow admission of water, so that they operate like so many driven wells.

They are preferably made twenty-f1 ve or more 6 5 I feet in length,'so that they may be driven deeply into the river-bed. Exterior to the. base of the tank A, l arrange a low wall C, which is separated from, the tank by a narrow space that is-fllled with sand a, land piles B2 7o are driven close to said wall C, as shown. Sand ct may also be placed in the tank proper to a short depth in case the soil of the riverbedis of such nature as to render its use desirable as a filtering medium.

It is apparent that the water of the river will percolatethe bed around and beneath the tank Aand enter the same at the bottom and through the hollow piles B, as shown by arrows in Fig. 2, and that its level within the 8o tank will be the same as that of the stream l outside; `Water also percolates through the supplemental filter-bed a and is thus twice ltered before entering the tank. The wall C therefore subserves two functions in that it reinforces and protects the base of the tank or cistern A and also provides a separate 1ilteringmedium. The mud or other foreign matter filtered out and deposited on the bed, su rrounding the tank or cistern will be gradu- 9o ally washed away by the current, so that ob-v struction or danger from that source is avoided. The turbid or impure water of the stream which thus enters the tank A, filtered and purified, is drawn off from it by means of a pipe D, which is located near the bottom, or at least below low-water mark. It is appar-l ent that the height of the tank must be such as to eXceedhigh-water mark, or else its top must be closed to ingress of water.

In many cases a tank A', Fig. 1f, may be located away from the bank or near the mid'- IOO dle of the stream, and in such case I propose to construct it with its upstream end presenting an acute angle. Piles are also driven to protect said tank, as in the case of the tank A. The operation is the same as in the case iirstdescribed. The construction of such a tank or cistern and its location in a river-bed and the utilization of the latter as a perpetual self-cleaning filtering medium obviously involve comparatively small first cost and no outlay for lnaintainance, While the operation is effective and reliable.

It is apparent the invention may be applied in a still body of Water, such as a lake or pond, Without requiring modification.

That- I claim is- 1. The tank or cistern having a vertical Wall, and set in the bed of a stream or other body of Water, a series of piles driven vertically on both sides of ysaid wall in contact therewith, and an eduction-pipe connected with the cistern at a point below the Watersurface, as shown and described.

2. The combination with a tank or eistern having an open bottom and set in a river or other Water-bed, of an exterior vertical Wall also set in the water-bed, adjacent to but perforated, to adapt them to serve as water conductors, as specified.

5. The combination with the bed and bank of a body of Water, of a tank or cistern, Which is open at the bottom and placed adjacent to said bank, with its ends entering the bank as shown, so that the latter serves as one side of such tank or cistern, and a Water-eduction pipe arranged below low-Waterlevel, as shown and described.

EDWARD MAGINN.

Witnesses:

JOHN M. PREsco'r'r, Jr.,

JAMES W. Pnnsco'r'r. 

